5 Areas the Los Angeles Lakers Need to Upgrade to Win 2011-12 NBA Title

The Western Conference is so close that players and fans shouldn't worry that almost a third of the way into the season, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in sixth place. There is no doubt that with a few more wins, the Lakers could separate themselves from the pack and settle in as a top 3 seed.

However, in order to do that, they'll need to fix some major issues with the team first.

In fact, when considering just how bad the Lakers have been at times (particularly on the offensive end) it's rather surprising they've won as many games as they have.

Perhaps it is a testament to how amazing Kobe Bryant has been thus far. But if the team wishes to compete for a title this year, they'll have to address a few of these problems regardless of how Kobe plays.

Rebounding

What may at first seem like one of the Lakers greatest strengths is actually an area where they could improve.

Despite being one of the league’s best overall rebounding teams, they are 24th in opponent’s offensive rebounds. This is simply unacceptable for a team with as much length as the Lakers.

While they’ve certainly slowed the pace of their games to prevent high scoring shootouts, they’ll need to limit the amount of offensive rebounds they give up if they want to ensure the box score tips in their favor.

Fast Break Scoring

The Lakers are obviously a half-court team.

However, this doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t benefit from getting out in the open court to try and get some easy points in transition.

With athletic wings like Matt Barnes and Devin Ebanks, guards like Kobe Bryant, Steve Blake and Andrew Goudelock should look to push the ball from time to time.

While the team is not teeming with athleticism, the Bryant, Barnes and Goudelock lineup should be able to get out in the open more than they do.  Not to mention, the Lakers have a pretty quick big man in Pau Gasol, who is more than capable of making the proper plays in a fast break situation.

Forcing Turnovers

The easiest way to get some fast-break scoring is to force a few turnovers.

As of now, the team is dead last in forced turnovers in the league. All too often, the Lakers fail to put the proper defensive pressure on their opponents to force mistakes.

It’s understandable that Coach Mike Brown wants the team to play conservative defense; however, turnovers often lead to easy buckets on the other end. They could greatly aid the team’s ailing offensive production (currently 20th in scoring).

Three-Point Shooting

Another way the team can boost their offense is by spreading the floor and opening up the offense.

One of the easiest ways to do this is through solid three-point shooting.

Currently the Lakers are 28th in three-point shooting percentage, which has allowed for defenses to clog the paint or send double teams without the fear of being burned by outside shooting.

A player like Andrew Goudelock might be able to help the Lakers out on this front. He’s demonstrated in the last few games that he can hit the long ball. However, it will take more than one player stepping up to make a real difference on the offensive end.

Bench Scoring

Once again, the Lakers find themselves at the bottom of the rankings in a key statistical category.

That’s right folks, the Lakers are last in bench scoring this season.

Despite promising talent like Josh McRoberts, Devin Ebanks and veterans like Metta World Peace and Jason Kapono, there hasn’t been enough scoring from the second unit. The lone exception thus far has been Steve Blake, though he’s had to sit due to injury. Thankfully, Goudelock has picked up a bit of that slack, thus preventing the bench from sinking even further.

Perhaps the Lakers truly ought to consider a Gilbert Arenas-type player who can come off the bench and create instant offense.

Otherwise, the Lakers will continue to play considerable stretches of games with no offensive weapons whatsoever, forcing a rag-tag style of basketball that rarely produces anything positive.